What to expect:

A partly cloudy day in Manchester with a very slight chance of rain. In the unlikely event of weather forcing no result on the match day, the game will recommence the following day (reserve day) from where it was stopped. The result of the toss, too, will be taken forward even if not a single ball is bowled on the scheduled day. Old Trafford has hosted five matches in the league stages, with four of them seeing scores in excess of 290.

The run-in to the knockouts saw pitches progressively playing slower and favouring teams batting first. But the semis, set to be played on fresh centre wickets, should offset the toss advantage somewhat. On the eve of the game, the centre wicket had a caramel tinge to it and should generally hold well for batting.

Team News:

India(IND):

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury midway through the tournament forced India to ponder their batting depth. A 7-11 of Kuldeep, Shami, Chahal and Bumrah with the middle-order uncertainties they already had was worrisome. So they abandoned one of the wrist spinners for extra batting cushion. It is a formula that’s left them playing with exactly five bowlers. Dinesh Karthik’s lengthy net session would indicate he stays at No.7. India will be tempted to reunite the wristies given the pair’s success in New Zealand early this year. If not they’ll have to pick one and pair him with Jadeja coming in at No.8. It’s a tricky call with merits on each side.

The scourge of the opening combination has not left Williamson. Scores of 0 and 8 from two innings for Henry Nicholls has meant New Zealand now have three under-performing openers from which they have to pick two. Nicholls could keep his place given India, and particularly Bumrah, appears to has worked out Colin Munro. However, New Zealand aren’t too far from a more dramatic re-jig either – which could see Tom Latham move up to the top and Nicholls to the middle, which the latter prefers. Lockie Ferguson, meanwhile, will return to the XI after being rested against England as a precautionary measure over his tight hamstrings.

Did you know?

New Zealand has won just one of their seven World Cup semifinals. India has a slightly better 3-3 record from their six trips to the final four.

Since the last World Cup, Rohit Sharma has batted at a PowerPlay strike-rate of 74.04. Post Shikhar Dhawan’s injury in this edition, he’s upped his scoring to 95.77

Trent Boult has taken more wickets against India in ODIs than any other bowler since the last World Cup: 22 wickets from 12 games at 24.9.

Venue Guide:

Stadium: Emirates Old Trafford

City: Manchester

Capacity: 19000

Hosts to: Lancashire

Venue Scoring Pattern:

Avg 1st inn score: 225

Avg 2nd inn score: 197

Highest Total: 397/6 (50 Ov) by ENG vs AFG

Lowest Total: 45/10 (40.3 Ov) by Can vs ENG

Highest Chased: 286/4 (53.4 Ov) by ENG vs NZ

Lowest Defended: 221/8 (60 Ov) by ENG vs NZ

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is the 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July 2019. Total 48 One Day Internationals for 46 Days of Cricket Battle between 10 Teams.